“ALEC is going to wake up and realize that the Heartland Institute, which is funded by special interests, is pushing them in a direction that’s making them irrelevant to, or at best out of touch with, the American public,” said [Solar Energy Industries Association] President Rhone Resch. “And they can’t afford to do that.”

While we are amused by one special interest being irked by efforts on behalf of another, we are even more entertained by ALEC’s proposed “energy freedom index” to expose states apparently threatening their citizens’ liberties by aiding in the expansion of those darn anti-American wind turbines and solar panels (a technology created in the U.S.).

ALEC and Heartland are worked up about renewable energy portfolios – state rules on requiring a growing percentage of energy come from renewable sources (like wind and solar) in an effort to address climate concerns and diversify the power mix. Illinois has one, though the recent Chicago electricity aggregation vote exposed it as a mess. The new blue supermajority in Springfield will likely keep this new Heartland Institute effort irrelevant in their home state.